Tutorial: Build SCORM Compatible Lesson Templates for Your LMS

When I began working as the sole e-Learning developer for Ferrellgas, a company with several thousand employees, I realized that my time was going to be stretched thin. I was hired to select, implement, and manage a Learning Management System (LMS), and then to develop e-Learning courses for the LMS. For those who have been in a similar position, you know that this is no small task.

After several months, we implemented the LMS and I was ready to begin developing courses. I decided that I wanted to build some type of a template to speed up course development. I dreaded the idea of duplicating code; I did not want to write and re-write the same code for each course (e.g., SCORM functions, navigation, scoring, etc.). Why should I re-invent the wheel each time I need to build a course?

Following a bit of research, brainstorming, and testing, I developed an e-Learning lesson template, which is essentially a framework I can use to build lessons rapidly. The template contains the basic navigation and SCORM functionality that will make the lesson work in an LMS. I am able to drop in content, interactive exercises, and assessment questions, and the template does the rest of the work. The ability to use (and re-use) this framework helps to reduce development time, and allows me to concentrate on a lesson’s content and interactivity rather than on its delivery details.

This article outlines the benefits of using a lesson template, and describes how you can build and use one at your organization.

What is required to build a lesson template?

At a minimum, you will need a text editor (for writing code) and a graphic editing program. The ideal toolset would be Dreamweaver, and either Fireworks or Photoshop. Other comparable Web development tools should work just as well. You may choose to use Flash or other development tools when developing the actual lesson content, but these basic tools are sufficient to create the lesson template.

You will also need a solid grasp of HTML, and at least some working knowledge of JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). You will need to be familiar with SCORM (or AICC, depending on your situation). Minor graphic editing skills will be helpful, too. Do not worry if you are lacking some of these skills. I’ve listed several references throughout the article to help you get up to speed.

Finally, you will need some code resources. I recommend the Web sites listed in Sidebar 1, and I’ll be referring to these throughout the article as I show you how to build a lesson template.

Structure of a course

At our organization, courses consist of one or more lessons. In SCORM-speak, each lesson is its own Sharable Content Object (SCO). You will see that the lesson template is really a SCO template. This means that each lesson can be uploaded to a SCORM-compliant LMS, and it can function as a stand-alone SCO. There are three types of lessons: completion-based, score-based, and assessment-only.

Completion-based lessons

Think of these lessons as “FYI” for the learner, almost like browsing a brochure. For example, we created a course at Ferrellgas to assist employees with their annual medical and dental benefits enrollment. This course contained one lesson, and we offered it for informational purposes only. Employees were not required to take it. Our goal in this case was to distribute information to people who were interested. If the learner paged through the lesson, they received credit for taking it. With this type of lesson, you can either give 100% credit to the learner if they open and browse it, or you can score them incrementally. For example, if the learner visits 7 out of 10 pages in a lesson, they would receive a 70%. Choose the most appropriate scoring method based on your lesson. This article describes how to build a completionbased lesson. With additional work you can set up your lesson template to support all three lesson types using the information here and in In the Eye of the SCORM (reminder: see Sidebar 1).

Score-based lessons

In a score-based lesson, the learner works through several pages of content, interactive exercises, and assessment items. JavaScript in the template tracks the learner’s score throughout the lesson, and then reports it back to the LMS at the end (or when the learner closes the lesson window). For more information on score-based lessons, read the “Relating score and success status” section of Chapter 8, In the Eye of the SCORM.

Assessment-only lessons

Assessment-only lessons are quizzes or exams that usually come after one or more completion- or scorebased lessons. There are several options to consider when building assessment lessons. If you use the lesson template, your assessments will have the same look-and-feel as the rest of your lessons, which is a good thing. Some assessment questions need to be highly customized, and are not the typical multiplechoice, true/false variety. In these cases, we use tools such as Fireworks and Flash to build the assessment, and then deliver it using the lesson template. An example of this would be an assessment that required the learner to perform some type of procedure, given a particular scenario.

For assessments with typical question types (e.g., multiple-choice, true/false, etc.), we use third-party products to speed up development. We use Respondus StudyMate (http://www.respondus.com/products/studymate.shtml) for short quizzes, or Atrixware’s Test Pro Developer (http://www.atrixware.com/Web8/ products/developer.php) (Editor's Note: As of November 1, 2009, this article appears to have been removed from the Web.) for longer quizzes and exams. We especially like Test Pro Developer because it allows us to track learners’ responses down to the individual question level. The ability to view this level of detail is important for Ferrellgas’ safety and compliance training. Both StudyMate and Test Pro Developer output their quizzes and exams as a SCORM package, which you can upload directly to an LMS.

How to build a lesson template

At first glance, this template will appear to be a Frankenstein monster pieced together from random parts. The end goal is to have all of the pieces working in unison so that the lesson works smoothly, both behind the scenes and for the learner.

Getting started

Before I begin showing you how to build a template, there are six key elements in my approach to be aware of: SCORM bias, audience awareness, standards, accessibility, portability, and persistence.

SCORM bias

The majority of this article focuses on the use of the SCORM 2004 communication and tracking, as opposed to AICC. This is because SCORM 2004 is one of the most widely used methods of communication between courses and LMSs, and our LMS supports SCORM 2004. You should use the method of communication that applies to your organization’s LMS. You will find that many of the principles in this article will still work when used in conjunction with AICC or SCORM 1.2; however, you will need to make some code changes.

Know your audience

Make sure to design your lesson template to work well for your audience, from a technical and usability perspective. Keep the following questions in mind: Are audience members using broadband or dial-up Internet access? What Web browsers do they use and which versions? What screen resolution do they prefer — and do your lessons function correctly when viewed at the same resolution? What plug-ins do they have (or not have)? Test your lessons as if you are the user. Use your QA department, if you have one. Ask some of the users if they would be willing to test some of the lessons for you. Design for their needs and solicit their feedback; this is essential for success in e-Learning.

Set standards

I highly recommend that you establish design and development standards with your e-Learning developers. Consistent and disciplined use of naming conventions, text formatting, CSS, and page layout can save hours of time (and headaches) in the long run. For more information on creating design and development standards within your organization, see Mike Dickinson’s excellent articles on creating and using an e-Learning developer’s guide in the September 25, 2006, and October 16, 2006, editions of Learning Solutions e-Magazine.

Be accessible

It is a best practice to build your e-Learning to be accessible to those with disabilities. For more information on accessibility, visit the Section 508 Web site (http://www.section508.gov/) or the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web site (http://www.w3.org/WAI/). You may also want to refer to Amy Kellogg’s article on Section 508 compliance and “hidden disabilities” in the October 10, 2005 Learning Solutions e-Magazine. Martie Buzzard also published more general articles on e-Learning and accessibility in the October 11, 2004 and October 8, 2002 issues.

Portable lessons

Keep in mind that it may often be useful to have lessons stand alone, outside of an LMS. Take this scenario: Your manager says, “I need to demo our newest PeopleSoft course to show our Vice President today at lunch. I’ll have my laptop, but won’t have Internet access. Can you give the course to me on CD?” This lesson template will allow you to access courses outside of an LMS. You can copy the lesson’s folders to a CD, and your manager will be ready to go. But keep in mind that scoring and tracking functionality will not be available for lessons that are launched on their own.

Persisting user information

It takes some fancy footwork in order save user information (e.g., scores, learner progress, etc.) as a learner moves through an e-Learning lesson. This is due to the nature of HTML Web pages; the pages cannot “remember” user information as the individual moves from one page to another. One solution for overcoming this problem is to use an HTML frameset. When using a frameset, the learner will only be changing pages in one of the frames, often called the content or display frame (see Figure 1). The other frames do not change, so we can store the user’s information in these static frames. For more information on this issue, see the section titled “Maintaining state across multiple pages” in Chapter 8 of In the Eye of the SCORM.

Some people may think I am crazy for recommending the use of frames because it is considered an antiquated Web development practice. But I assure you it does work well, and we have received great feedback from our learners regarding our courses. If you are hesitant to go with the traditional frameset, you may consider attempting a more modern layout by using a hidden, or very small, frame to retain learner information.

Figure 1 A frameset gives the developer a place to store user information — in the static frames.

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